Winter 2016/Fuller Online
FS510
DeWitt Goudelock
FS510: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN CONTEXT (4 Units: 163 hours). Brianne DeWitt Goudelock.
DESCRIPTION: This course provides an integrated overview of the process of human development throughout the lifepsan in various contexts. We will address psychological, cultural, and theological perspectives on the nature of personal and social development as we seek to answer the question, “What is God’s intention for persons to develop into?” Development will be explored from the poles of flourishing and languishing as informed by humankind’s origin in God. A life-span approach will explore core areas of identity development including: moral/faith, gender and sexuality, family, and cultural/ethnicity. Students will reflect on their life experiences in light of the course content. This course will provide students the opportunity for integration at multiple levels: 1) theological reflection on human development, 2) psychological understanding of development, and 3) personal integration of course content with student’s personal and ministry experience.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will (1) be able to design ministry practices that take into consideration critical life span issues of human nature and functioning; (2) be able to identify individual, familial, community and cultural resources and risks that influence flourishing and languishing; (3) demonstrate appropriate and nuanced understanding of age, gender, economic, ethnic, and cultural diversity as it relates to developmental processes; and (4) identify developmental issues within the self.
COURSE FORMAT: This course will be conducted online on a ten-week schedule aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar for a total of 40 instructional hours, which is outlined below in the assignment and assessment section. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning.
REQUIRED READING: (1,395 pages assigned).
Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2002. ISBN: 978-0767905923, Pub. Price $11.99 [192 pp. assigned].
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Reissue edition). Ballantine Books, 2009. ISBN: 978-0345514400, Pub. Price $6.99 [304 pp. assigned].
Balswick, Jack, King, Pamela, & Reimer, Kevin. The Reciprocating Self: Human Development in Theological Perspective. InterVarsity Press, 2005. ISBN: 978-0830827930, Pub. Price $27.00 [293 pp. assigned].
Balswick, Jack, & Balswick, Judith. The Family: A Christian Perspective on the Home. (4th ed.). Baker Books, 2007. ISBN: 978-0801049347, Pub. Price $26.99 [229 pp. assigned].
Course Reader (available on course Moodle site) [377 pp. assigned].
Online sexual abuse prevention training, $10 charge, on the Darkness to Light website: http://www.d2l.org/site/c.4dICIJOkGcISE/b.6035035/k.8258/Prevent_Child_Sexual_Abuse.htm [requires 2-3 hours of online training time]
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENTS: Regular online class discussion/participation, ministry application forums, writing assignments (including personal reflections, theological/intercultural reflections, and case studies), and an online sexual abuse prevention training.
Instruction hours include professor’s audio lectures, professor’s notes and PowerPoint review, online resources (web links and videos), video lectures by professor, case study interview of two couples, child observation, weekly initial posts and weekly reply posts, and “learning about yourself” activities [20 hours].
Weekly forum posts (300 words) responding to questions posed that relate to assigned reading, online course material, and activities including a weekly response to one classmate’s post (150 words) - (20% of grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2-4] [7-8 hours reading preparation per week= 80 total hours].
Ministry Application Forum Posts (300 words) applying course material to particular ministry setting and bi-weekly response to two classmate’s post (150 words each) - (20% of grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1] [30 total hours].
Writing Assignments on topics related to course material (50% of grade) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1-4; 6 total assignments, 30 total pages of writing throughout the quarter] [30 hours preparing and writing].
Darkness to Light Online Sexual Abuse Training. (10% of grade) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2] [2-3 hours of online training].
PREREQUISITES: None. This course is not recommended for SOP students.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets Seminary Core Requirement (SCR) for MATM, MAICS, MAFS, MACL (effective Winter 2010).
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.